Roswell (where this is) is right down the mountain from me.
I ranch and have horses, and have no problem with this.
The animals are otherwise shipped to Mexico for slaughter.
This keeps the jobs local and prevents theft that occurs in Mexico.
The meat is for export, BTW.
The horses are private property of their owners to be used justly and fairly. No different than cows or anything else.
Hondo, Ruisoso, Cloudcroft or Lincoln?
Actually, horses are much different from cows or "anything else". Horses are not raised as meat animals in the US, they are raised as service and companion animals. As such... They have a lifetime of untracked veterinary medical treatment-- much of which would disqualify them from entry to any meat market. Horses and their medical histories are not tracked like cows and pigs. Since they aren't being raised for meat they often receive meds hat would ban them from any meat market if they were a cow or a pig.
The EU is just finding out now about chemically tainted horsemeat showing up all over Europe. if they think the US is a good source of horse meat they need a good education in horse husbandry in the US.